The new technology goes beyond current devices, which only restore bright-light and high-contrast recognition. Sheila Nirenberg, study author and a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the device could be approved for human use within two years.

Researchers decoded the signals the mouse brain used to communicate with its retina and were able to mimic it using glasses that send electrical signals. Older devices were much less advanced, and were inherently limited, researchers said.

"What this shows is that we have the essential ingredients to make a very effective prosthetic," Nirenberg told Bloomberg News.

Nirenberg and her research team monitored healthy eyes to determine how the brain decodes the signals it receives from the retina. From there, they used special glasses to mimic that code and send the same signal to the brain. The cells received the code and were able to convert it into images you can see.